Assessing Smallholder Farmers’ Understanding of Environmental Effects of Modern Agronomic Practices in Ghana

Abstract

Aims: This paper seeks to assess smallholder farmers’ level of understanding of the environment effects of modern agriculture. Study Design: Every second household or homestead was selected from the west to east direction using GPS. Thus, a systematic random sampling technique was employed to solicit the needed information. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in August 2017 at Dzodze, the District Capital of Ketu North, and its surrounding villages in Ghana. Methodology: A total of 150 farmers were systematically selected and interviewed using an interview schedule guide. Farmers were asked to rank 10 indicator variables on a Likert scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the least important and 5 being extremely important. To test for the level of agreement and reliability among raters, Cronbach’s alpha (α = 0.85) was used. In addition, the Relative Importance Index (RII) was computed for the farmers’ ranks of environmental issues associated with modern agriculture. The highest score for all the variables per farmer was 60. This was converted into an index that ranges between 0 and 1. The index was employed in the Tobit regression model to econometrically estimate the effects of the socioeconomic and biophysical attributes on farmers’ understanding of environmental issues that are associated with modern agriculture. The Kendall Coefficient of Concordance was used to evaluate the level of agreement for the farmers’ rankings of the indicator variables. Results: The results indicated that individual concordance (W) values were significant at P < 0.001. The indicator variables were ranked from the 1st to the 10th positions by the farmers as follows: Reduce Soil Fertility, Effects Human Health, Reduces Fish Catch, Increases Soil Toxicity, Contaminates Water, Increases Crop Diseases, Causes Soil Compaction, Increase Soil Salinity, Increase Soil Erosion and Increases Insect Infestation; however, the results of the Tobit model indicated that variables such as Education, Electronic Media, Farm Size and Experience were positive, whereas Age of Farm Household Head and Labour Endowment were negative and significantly related to smallholders’ understanding of the environmental effects of modern agronomic practices. Conclusion: In conclusion, the study indicates the need for the proactive education of smallholder farmers regarding environmental concerns upon the adoption of modern agriculture technology.